The No Kill Advocacy Center is teaming up with the Animal Law program at George Washington University Law School and No Kill Nation to bring together the nation’s most successful shelter directors and the nation’s top animal lawyers. They will help you create a No Kill community and teach you how to use the legal system to save the lives of animals.
Learn from animal control/shelter directors who are now saving over 90% of all animals using the building blocks to No Kill success – programs and services that have had results in both urban and rural communities – to increase adoptions, reduce length of stay, increase redemption rates, rehabilitate animals, and much, much more.
Learn from animal law experts who have challenged our legal system to help animals: Whether it’s drafting model laws, fighting breed specific legislation, eliminating the gas chamber, filing impact legislation, or protecting condemned dogs, learn how to use the legal system to save the lives of animals.
Learn from activists fighting entrenched and regressive shelters in their own community as they show you how to launch successful campaigns for reform.
More info and registration here.
YB!, I got the “official” announcement (not your nice review) in my new year’s email box. Would like to share a couple initial reactions I had. Why? Because I think we learn better when we are challenged to think through our support of issues. Here were my thoughts on a couple points:
1) All the hype sounds just like Best Friends’ claims about their wildly successful sold-out No More Homeless Pets conference being the event of the year. Wow, 2 events of the year in the same year.
2) No kill = 90% club? It’s no wonder the words “no kill” have become the most divisive words in the sheltering industry. They do not mean what they imply. This acquiescence to the old-school shelter model is dead wrong (pun intended). An actual “no-kill” rate would be around 98-99%. Too many dogs and cats get killed who could be easily rehabbed. They just get stuffed into that garbage can category “untreatable” because shelter people don’t know their heads from their asses when it comes to dealing with behavior issues. The NKE accepts that BS instead of challenging it fiercely.
3) I just shake my head in utter disbelief that the leading advocate of reducing (not ending – that would be the 99% club) shelter killing is still banging the drum loudly in support of shelters.
Let me expand why this one issue is more important than anything else on the conference agenda:
Shelters = prisons. Caging = solitary confinement. Healthy, balanced dogs and cats go into shelters and catch diseases and develop screwy behavior simply because of the prison-like housing. Animals, just like humans, suffer greatly when deprived of social contact.
What is No-Kill Equation’s answer? The 2 points of the 11 in the NKE simply point at behavior work, but offer nothing tangible. NKE’s motto is “Do more and do it better!” Instead of addressing the cause of the problem, Nathan and Company simply diddle around with the symptoms.
Here’s what I mean in detail. On the list of conference workshops there are 32 topics listed. Three jump off the page at me:
1) Shelter enrichment for dogs
2) Socialization for dogs in shelters
3) Innovative shelter design & strategies
First, “enrichment” for dogs (not cats?) is shelter codeword for play with them so they don’t go “kennel crazy.”
Second, how does one actually socialize dogs when most of their time there is spent in isolation? They don’t need romping around in the prison yard in twos or threes (they even do this in maximum security human prisons, don’t they?), they need real group exercise. That’s what social means when we say dogs are social animals. Btw, so are cats.
Finally, the current fad in shelter design is to swap out ugly individual cages for nice, cute, very expensive semi-private rooms. Any way you slice that rotten apple, it’s still a rotten apple. Semi-private rooms are for our sensibilities – dogs and cats need to be DISPLAYED (not housed – think about what the words imply) in large groups. They like being together and thrive that way.
In conclusion, the reason this failed shelter model continues on is because of mainstream advocacy that has bought into it lock, stock and barrel. Nathan W. and his groupies cannot see this vital need for change because he is a shelter guy. He was an attorney who went straight into shelter work. He has never worked hands-on with groups of dogs or cats. Rescuers around the world deal with large groups of animals in their homes every day. This is an easy concept for them. WE get it. The no-kill society group needs to move the hell away from supporting these prisons. Only then will it become obvious to the public what is so wrong with what is happening in our society.
Here’s a brief slide show which gives a simple look at the issue from a dog’s viewpoint = http://youtu.be/2AaRuznrDb0
Thanks for letting me share this dissenting view of the 11-step No-Kill Equation.
Sorry, the link above is to a previous version. Here’s the active link = http://youtu.be/OPajZB9cPWQ
Happy new year to all!
Thank you-Great information!!!
Are there any lawyers in Texas involved and if so, who?!?
-B
I volunteered at a county shelter (a Sheriff’s Dept.-run facility that does not kill for space or play numbers games. Real No Kill of healthy, adoptable pets. And the definition of “healthy” was reasonable and flexible) for four years and my experience simply does not map to a lot of what you are saying. Have you ever volunteered at a shelter yourself and worked directly with the dogs and cats therein? It really doesn’t sound like it.
It all sounds idyllic if not practical. How does a county shelter with no money suddenly turn into one of these places? Do you really think attacking the No Kills is going to bring them around to your side? I noticed on your website you suggest working with groups such as PETA and HSUA who are completely against No Kill. I would prefer to volunteer for a shelter that is at least attempting to save more animals than volunteer with groups that think killing animals is the way to save them.